Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-07-08
Where Pearls Are Found.

Where Pearls Are FO;tnu.
The formation of mother-of-pearl is
doubtlessa natural process taking place
in certain mussels The formation oil
pearls, on the other hand, is ascribetl
to accidents, and probably is caused by
a sickness Of the mussel, or by some
wound inflicted on it. This view has
been reached by noticing the circqm-
stance that when the shells arc large
and the inside smooth, clean, and with
out any holes, so that the mollusks can
fully develop, pearls are but rarely
found: while the formation of pearls is
very frequent when the shells are ir-
regular. Sometimes hundreds Of pesrls
are found in the aforementioned shells,
but frequently scarcely one of them
possesses any commercial value. Real
pearls are found only in bivalves; but
a useful product is found in some uni
valves. Fourteen varieties are enumer-
ated, the products of which are known
to commerce. Among these are the
avicula margaritifera, which produces
the most valuable pearls; the pima
squamosa, with black and red pearls,
and the chank shell, with pale-red
pearls.
Diving is one of the principal en-
pigments for the natives OF the Pa
citic Ocean. Here, likewise, mother
of-pearl is the principal object of the
fisheries. The oysters live in large
colonies, close together, and are firmly
attached to each other. They are at
tached to the bottom by a Ega-
ment OF band, starting from their
body and running through the shell.
In the live animal this band is of dark
green, and sometimes gold bronze
color, and fishermen can tell from its
color whether the shells contain pearls
or not. The shells reach their full
size when they are years old When
the animal has reached maturity it
tears itself loose from the stones, opens
its shell, and dies. The shells are
then covered with corals and parasites.
They become worthless and the pearls
are lost. Occasionally pearls are found
loose in the shells. These ore always
of a very fine quality, perfectly round,
and often very large. But there is
hardly one in a thousand oysters which
contains such pearls. Thc natives
often lose them, owing to the careless
way in which they open the shells
Fine and calm weather is most favor
able for pearl-fshing. The divers
wear no special suit, but simply ,ub
their body with oil SO the sun may not
blister the skin. They remain 1lnlcr
the water one to two minutes and bling
up oysters from depth OF twenty
fathoms. They rarely go to srl,h a
depth, but the finest oysters are found
there.
In the lower part OF the Bay of
Nulege, in the Gulf OF California and
near Los Coyntes, pearls of great value
have been found. It is generally sup
posed that row of pearl-beds cx;ends
from the Gulf of Darien to California.
The fisheries are carried on from July
to October; during the rest of the year
storms and cold weather prevent fish
ing. Diving-srits are generally Used.
Experience has shown that few
pearls, and these of little value, come
from mussels which are not older tnan
five years. During the fifth and sixth
year the value doubles, and in the
seventh it becomes four-fold The
pearls are not fully matrred if they are
taken out too soon, and, on the other
hand, the animal dies if the pearls re-
main too long in the shells. For these
reasons, at the Ceylon fisheries pearl
fishing is prohibited at certain periods.
In sorting the pearls they are first
passed through row of baskets, ten OF
twelve in number. The eighth basket
in the row has twenty holes, and the
pearls which do not pass through these
are said to have the twentieth meas
ure." The other baskets in order have
80, so, so, 100, 200. 400, 600, 1000
holes, ETC., and each basket has its
special name. After the pearls have
been sorted in this measure they are
weighed and their value is noted.
The pearl fisheries are principally
confined to the Persian Gulf, coasts Of
Ceylon, the Eastern Archipelago,
Australia, the lagoons and many
islands in the Pacific, and to Central
America. Fresh-water pearls have, as
a rule, but little luster and are con-
sequently of no great value. For
awhile the Scotch pearls enjoyed o
great reputation. During the summer
months the Arabs carry on sort of
pearlfshery on the coast of the Red
Sea. They catch the mollusks and lay
them in the sun so that they may open
quickly. The pear1-fisheries in the
Persian Gulf, especially on the coa.ts
of the Island Of Bahrein, are also in
the hands of the Arabs
In the State OF Ohio pearl Fisheries
are carried on in the Little Miami
River. The season lasts from June
till October. Men and boys wade in
the river and bring up the pearl
oysters with their feet. The shells are
opened with knife and seldom are
more than two pearls found in 300
oysters. Pearl-ishe ries are also
carried on in the rivers OF Norway.
Bavaria, and Bohemia.
In the Bahamas the snail fisheries
form an important industry. The pearls
found in them are rose-colored, yellow.
or black; the first mentioned alone
possess any value.
About the Bee.
There is the bees eye, with it's hun